Tznius is as much a mechanism to control the way a woman dresses as it is a method to control her behavior. I once read an article about women petitioning to join the all male Jewish volunteer EMT organization, Hatzolah, from which females are currently banned. Because the organization refuses to let women volunteer to help out with medical emergencies, particularly labor and delivery calls, some women started up their own volunteer EMT squad called Ezras Nashim.
Many critiques about women serving as emergency first responders pointed to their inability to leave the house quickly due to dress code requirements. For example one commenter calling himself “shtam a shelpepper” wrote –
“id like to see mrs chanie louie so and so run to her car 3am sheitel gets stuck in door hinge – trips over her shvim kleide and whooopie slips and rips her hose. Back into the house – kids cryin mommy wherecha goin.
blob blob kindelach i just got a ezras nashim call.
helpf mir – ezras us mommy!
22 minutes later mommy gets to the call – way past delivery – in fact we have twins now and they have long been transported to hopsital….by hatzoloh of course.
BH someone can clean up now – oy a broch!
And evevryone lived happily ever rafter!
ok ok thats a little far-fetched , fine take out the torn hose.”
I remembered those sexist comments, using women’s tznius obligations as a means to hinder their participation in public life, upon seeing a Facebook thread about a Lubavitch female trainer running a marathon in her sheitel.
The article and accompanying photo immediately drew several mocking responses not only about the impropriety of wearing a wig during exercise but also criticizing the woman’s skills as a runner and trainer –
“Um, I don’t heel striker, ever – and I can’t imagine how hot it must be to run in a sheital….”
“I can tell you that sweating under a sheital is NOT pleasant on a regular day – given that most people sweat when they run – it must be awful. I still think the pics are only for demonstration purposes, even though they are taken from FB. I’ve taught aerobics classes where young women wore their sheitals, but then they didn’t make a very big effort in the class – and most likely didn’t break out a sweat. Maybe like Zumba….”
“Is it the schnitzel shuffle or the kugel crawl? Or perhaps it’s the rugalach run.”
“They made Zumba assur and running is even worse. Wearing skimpy flimsy dresses and moving your body in public on mixed streets.”
“Running shoes are probably kli gever as well.”
“i don’t think anyone who lets herself be photographed as this one did , truly considers herself hareidi…”
“Beis Yaakov girls do ride bikes; do fast walking and even running. I just wouldn’t the sweat from my karate workout to ruin my sheitl. She just wearing a sheitl to make a statement.Hareidi cool women (me) wear sunglasses and a bandana”
“A lot of the tznius issues raised in the comments here are what I would call “sensitivities.” I would not participate in various activities, not because the rabbis want to control me or because I support subjugating women, but simply because I don’t feel them to be tzanua. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.”
“When all is said and done……it’s being involved in narishkeit”
My reaction was to think of TV personality and proud wig wearer, Wendy Williams. Wendy has said that she has a “gym wig” for working out. Lots of American women wear weaves, extensions, hair pieces, and wigs. It’s in fashion right now. They wear them working out too…especially pony tail wigs. There is no need to hate on this woman for her form or imply she isn’t serious about running just because she wears a wig. You could make a similar argument against women running in skirts. Just be proud of her that she’s running!
Haters are gonna hate. The comments about this female orthodox trainer are the same arguments cited above to keep women out of Hatzolah – how will the vibers get out of the house in time to respond to a call? They’ll need to put on their clothes, their stockings, their sheitelach, their makeup – by the time they arrive on the scene the patient will be dead! Keeping frum women down and using the halachot they have to keep as an excuse to do so.
The reactions to the sheitel wearing runner and female EMTs portray an important side consequence of tznius – the clothing women wear serve to restrict their activities which satisfies a greater purpose beyond the surface halacha. If you are dressed in a certain way, it seems inappropriate to engage in certain activities – such as exercise. The laws of modesty are enforced and expanded to curtail and control behavior more than just dress. When women try and work within the system, yet still engage in a variety of outside activities, they get ridiculed or told their actions are dangerous or assur.
It’s so easy to stereotype and judge what an orthodox woman should and shouldn’t be doing; I myself succumbed to this attitude on a recent trip to Florida. One morning, I stepped outside onto the balcony of my hotel room which had a gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean. As the sun seemed to crystallize in golden fragments across the water, I took out my phone and began taking photos. Soothed by the promise of a warm day and the sound of the rolling waves, I looked down to the hotel pool beneath me.
What I saw was quite theatrical. A colorful aquatic display of patterned robes, flowing out like the delicate fins of angelfish, glided through the water. Bright turbans bobbed like the heads of mysterious deep sea creatures. Legs, appearing as ghostly white tentacles on top, and ending in a brownish camouflage shade below the knees, trailed behind the colorful bodies, propelling swimmers back and forth between the sides of the human aquarium.
I was fascinated by this scene, and even more intrigued as I realized that I was witnessing a secret ritual of sorts – a group of Chassidic women who had risen with the sun in order to swim in the hotel pool. At this early hour, there was little risk of men inadvertently witnessing their activity. How strange and wonderful! What dedication they must have to their dress code in order to swim fully clothed in turbans, house robes, and stockings! What commitment they must have to their love of swimming in order to overcome the obstacles to getting in the pool!
Going back into my room, I looked over the bathing suits I had brought for the trip. One of the suits was a one piece that I wear with a shirt over it. That bathing suit is usually reserved for women’s only swim classes or when my family is vacationing in a place far away from other Jews. This was not one of those places. The other bathing suit I brought was a “burkini” (burka+bikini) (HT Rachmuna Litzlon). In Yiddish, this kind of swim dress is known as a “shvimkleid.”
I purchased my burkini online to wear to public pools and water parks. Ironically, while I feel embarrassed to walk around in my standard one piece bathing suit in public, I also feel somewhat embarrassed to wear my burkini contraption too. It does draw attention and makes me feel unusual. Non orthodox people probably presume I am Muslim when I wear it.
Inspired by the women in the pool, I decided to wear my burkini to the beach and pool that day without embarrassment. I refuse to let tznius clothing hold me back from doing things that I love, and at the same time, why should I compromise my standards of modesty? I believe that I can be both tznius as well as take part in the activities the world has to offer.
As I swam in the pool, I wondered if another hotel occupant on a balcony above was looking down in confusion at the black porpoise with pale human feet slowly undulating its way under the chlorine blue water. Perhaps I am already on Youtube.
For a good laugh, take a look at this classic clip about the importance of shvimkleids by Deena Mann. Deena is a talented amateur impersonator, character actor, and comic.
